One of the biggest threats to your health and overall well-being is stress. It’s important for you to have some stress-relieving hobbies to help alleviate some of the tension. Poker is an excellent way of relieving stress. Of course, learning to successfully play is necessary to maximize the experience, as constantly losing can tack its own undesired levels of stress.

Becoming even more popular than Texas Hold ‘em, 7-Card Stud is an entertaining card game that requires a lot of strategies and close attention. Here are some basic strategies that you can utilize as you get started relieving your stress and having fun.

Starting Hand

When playing 7-card stud, the first strategy is whether to continue the hand once you’ve put in your ante and dealt the first three cards. Remember, you don’t want to get too attached to your ante. You can play online poker for real money, but antes really aren’t that much money and you don’t want to get too invested on a rotten hand. With the first three cards, you want to take a look and see if they fit into any of these four categories:

• Three of a kind
• High pair (10 or above)
• Three to a flush
• Three to a straight

If you have a high pair, you want to drive out the others by betting and getting them to fold early on before they have a pair or other hand that is potentially higher than yours. With a flush, you want a strong flush with a high card, preferably an ace. Since this is a draw hand, it’s a slow build rather than raising wherever possible. It’s pretty much the same deal with three to a straight. With this hand, you’re looking for an outside straight, such as a 9, 10 and Jack, rather than something like an 8, 9, and Jack.

If none of these works out for you, consider folding here rather than losing more down the line.
4th Street Strategies

Once you get to 4th street, if you have a four of a kind, play it slow so that others will drive up the pot as they develop straights and flushes. If you have a three of a kind, you want to drive others out quickly by jamming the pot so that they don’t get the straights and flushes they’re working on. Same goes for a high two-pair. If you have a draw hand, because you’re working on a flush or straight, place a bet and call if you are raised. Keep your eye out too for the cards you need on another player’s porch. The more cards you need that are there, the less chance you are to get the card(s) you need.

Once you get to 5th street, the strategies will change as you near the end of the game, and the most money is lost, so check your pride at the door and be ready to fold if the cards aren’t in your favor.